Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden Read Free Book Online Page B

man on the front of the cart. It was he who had held up an arm to halt the column, and Khasar saw how the warriors looked to him for orders. Though the man’s deel was of simple cut, it had to be the Uighur khan, Barchuk. Khasar decided to give him honor by speaking first.
    “You are welcome in the camp, lord,” he said formally. “You are the last of the great tribes to arrive, but my lord Genghis has received your message in goodwill and allocated grazing land for your families.”
    The small man nodded thoughtfully as he looked past Khasar to the riders who waited in formation.
    “I can see we must be the last. I can hardly believe there are any more warriors in the world, given the size of the host on this plain. You are the first men we have seen in many days of travel.” He shook his head in wonder at the thought. “The Uighurs will pledge to Genghis, as I have promised. Show us where to pitch our gers and we will do the rest.”
    In comparison to some of the pricklier khans, Khasar appreciated the man’s bluntness. He smiled. “I am his brother, Khasar,” he said. “I will show you myself.”
    “Step up beside me, then, Khasar. I am hungry for news.” The khan patted the wooden bench of the cart and Khasar dismounted, sending his horse back to the first rank of Woyela warriors with a slap on its rump.
    “If we are the last, perhaps it will not be long before Genghis points this great arrow at his enemies,” the khan said as Khasar clambered up beside him. Barchuk clicked in his cheek at the oxen, and the cart moved off with a lurch. Khasar watched how the Uighur warriors kept formation around them and was pleased. They could ride, at least.
    “Only he can say, lord.” The bruises he had taken from the Woyela had almost faded, though he felt Barchuk’s eyes drift over them without comment. The camp had been quiet for a time after seeing the Woyela humbled, but with the end of summer, they were restless again and, now that the Uighurs had arrived, he thought his brother would move in just a few days. He felt his own excitement mounting at the idea. They had the tribes and Genghis would take their oaths of loyalty. After that, war would come and he and his brothers would take the Chin foot off the necks of their people.
    “You seem cheerful, Khasar,” Barchuk observed as he guided the cart around a hump in the grass. The older man was wiry with strength and his eyes seemed constantly amused.
    “I was thinking that we have never before come together, lord. Always there has been some blood feud or Chin bribery to keep us at each other’s throats.” He waved an arm to encompass the camp on the plain. “This? This is a new thing.”
    “It may end in destruction for our people,” Barchuk murmured, watching him closely.
    Khasar grinned. He remembered Kachiun and Genghis debating the same point and he echoed their words. “Yes, but not one of us, not one man, woman, or child, will be alive in a hundred years. Everyone you see here will be bones.”
    He saw Barchuk frown in puzzlement and wished he had Kachiun’s ability to speak as he went on.
    “What is the purpose of life if not to conquer? To steal women and land? I would rather be here and see this than live out my life in peace.”
    Barchuk nodded. “You are a philosopher, Khasar.”
    Khasar chuckled. “You are the only one who thinks it. No, I am the geat khan’s brother and this is our time.”

CHAPTER 3
    B ARCHUK OF THE U IGHURS SPOKE FOR HOURS as the sun set outside the great ger. Genghis was fascinated by the man’s knowledge, and if he came across a concept he did not understand, he made the khan go over and over it until the meaning was clear.
    Of all subjects, anything to do with the Chin had Genghis leaning forward in his seat like a hawk, his eyes bright with interest. The Uighurs had come from land to the far southwest, bordering the Gobi Desert and the Chin kingdom of Xi Xia. Genghis reveled in every detail Barchuk could provide